From One to Another
by Othmaine
Summary: This a story that explains more about my two new OC's Roman and Finnigan. Important to understanding Torn Apart when it comes out.
1. Chapter 1

**Roman's POV**

One day at the lab was normally like any other, but today was a different story.

In my testing chamber, I could hear the humans pacing around and sense the anxiety in their voices.

_Must be that time of the month, _I thought to myself.

Once every month, the COO of Technix, Maxwell Jamison, (Technix is the name of the company and the facility) comes around to oversee all of the current projects. Technix was founded about 75 years ago, and today marks the tenth year that I've been held here.

I'm tired of the tests. These geneticists should just stick to studying someone their own size and let all of us go. I mean, it's only a matter of time before there's nothing left for us animals to supply for their research.

Who knows what will happen after that. Best case scenario is that they'll just let us go, and I only want that to happen for the sake of the others. Frankly, I don't really care what happens to me.

The door to my room opened and one of the geneticists, followed closely by good old Maxwell, stepped in.

"What exactly do you need to show me Carter. There's a casserole back home with my name on it." Maxwell said.

"No need to worry sir! This will only take a few minutes. I just figured I would show you one of our more important projects." The geneticist, I guess his name was Carter, said.

They both walked toward the table that I was on and stopped in front of it.

"This is going to put Technix back on the map sir. First off, I'd like to introduce you to Subject 13C, code-name "Flightless".

_I'll give you flightless._

"A young male, very healthy. But as you may know sir, some penguins can carry disease." Carter started.

"Go on."

"The idea, sir, is to inject an antidote inside this penguin and then ship him back to his natural habitat in Antarctica. The serum is meant to be contagious, so all of his brethren will also become disease-free, which could eliminate that problem entirely. "

"Intriguing. Have you tried running any tests yet" Maxwell asked.

Carter pulled a needle out of his lab coat pocket and showed it to his boss.

"We have run some simulations, yes, but the project is still early in development."

"I need to see it to believe it. You're going to test it right here, right now."

A look of panic spread across Carter's face.

"Like I said sir, the serum is still pretty early in development. We already know what the desired result would be, but we still have no idea about the possible side-effects." Carter said.

"As you know Carter, Technix is rapidly losing its stocks to other leading companies in the genetics sector. We don't have time to wait. Do it NOW." Maxwell commanded.

Carter looked toward me and then down at the ground.

"Please consider what I've told you sir." Carter pleaded.

"If you don't obey me, then I'm shutting this whole project down."

Carter didn't look like he approved of the idea, but he knew that Maxwell wasn't one to joke. He steadied the needle in his hand and injected the serum into my flipper.

At first I didn't feel anything, but then the pain started coming. Unbelievable pain. I felt like I was going to die.

I collapsed onto the ground and started yelling, my body flailing around against my will.

"What's going on?!" Maxwell asked.

"The serum appears have triggered some sort of metamorphic response. We need to get out of here. NOW!"

Carter ran outside of the room and hit the fire alarm. Soon people started storming down the halls and to the exits. Whenever people passed my chamber, they screamed in horror at what they could see.

My whole body felt like it was on fire. I couldn't take the pain any longer. The last thing that I remembered was the door closing in front of me.

**_5 hours later_**

"Ugh...what happened?"

I slowly started to regain consciousness. I couldn't hear anything around me, so I was either deaf or the building was evacuated. I really hope it's the latter.

When I got up, I noticed that I felt really different. I walked over to the mirror that was on the wall and was pretty surprised by what I saw.

I was jacked! My whole body looked way stronger than it normally is.

_Well, the serum worked, just not the way ol' Carter wanted it to._

I took another look into the mirror before I turned away and went for the exit. The emergency protocols had kicked in and the door was blocked off by several barriers.

I looked down at my flippers then back at the door. An idea formed in my head, but I wasn't exactly sure if it was a good one or not.

_Worth a shot._

I took a few steps back and then rushed the barrier the barrier that was in front of me.

Instead of just slamming into the wall, I managed to push through the entire blockade.

"Aw hell yeah!"

I quickly ran down the hall and started for the building's entrance. Technix is huge, so I think it might take a little longer than desired to get out.

_**Outside the Technix building**_

After I busted down the entrance, I looked up at the sky that I hadn't seen in ten years.

The sun was shining down and there wasn't a cloud in sight. In the distance, I could make out the city.

I was free.

I started running in one direction, trying to get as far away from the building as possible.

Once I finally got into the heart of NYC, the sun was directly above me. Technix was branched off from everything else to help keep everything that went on in confidential. Good for them, but that meant a long walk for me.

I had to dart between alleyways and empty lots to avoid being seen be any civilians. I didn't really have any place in mind to go, so I just went straight.

While I was walking, I noticed that there was a copy of today's paper on the ground. I picked it up and started reading the headline out-loud.

"Disturbance at the Technix building. All workers evacuated. No word on the exact occurrence."

I threw it back on the ground and kept on walking. The good news is that nobody knows about me quite yet.

_**Inside the**_**apartment**

I decided that I would just camp out in an abandoned apartment building for the night, maybe even longer. The building still had some supplies and a fridge full of food, so I guess I should be lucky for that.

I'm going to have to stick to the shadows. Nobody is going to know about me. I have to start over.

I let out a sigh and started to look around the place some more.

_No circus is getting there hands on this freak,_ I thought with a smirk.

Once I got out of the kitchen and into what appeared to be a living room, saw a lone figure lying down on a couch.

It obviously wasn't human, but I couldn't really make out what it was thanks to the mounds of blankets that were on top of it.

"Hey" I said, nudging the figure lightly with my flipper.

As soon as I did this, the blankets were thrown away and the figure quickly got off of the couch and into a fighting stance. He was a penguin.

"Who are you and what do you want!" He demanded.

"Take it easy! I didn't know anyone lived here. I was just looking for a place to stay." I told him.

He loosened his stance a bit but his eyes were still fixated on me. Or should I say his "eye", because there was a patch over his left one.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"I think it's Roman, but I don't really remember."

"How do you forget your own name?"

"Well, the only names that I've been called for the past decade have been "Subject13C" and "Flightless". I had my family back home, but I lost them when I was taken away and shipped off to a research facility." I told him.

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it. How 'bout you? What's you're story?" I asked him.

He had completely dropped his stance at this point and had joined me on the couch.

"Call me Finnigan. And as for my story, it's not that exciting."

"Come on, lay it on me." I insisted.

"Well, I'm part of a rich family. I used to be able to get what I wanted, when I wanted. I got into an accident growing up and since then I've had to wear a patch over my eye. Not exactly great for getting the ladies, but what're you going to do."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think you should let me call you rich boy instead of Finnigan."

"That's a big NO." Finnigan said.

"What? I think it fits you well!" I told him jokingly.

He glared at me.

"Ah you're no fun!"

"Anyways," he started, still glaring at me. "all of that power started to get to my head and soon I didn't know who I was anymore. My parents always treated my like I couldn't care for myself and I had enough. I ran away and started venturing into the city. I've only been on my own for a few months, but I think I've managed well." Finnigan said.

"Sorry to hear that."

"It happens." He said.

"Not really."

We both started laughing.

"I hate you so much!" Finnigan said, still laughing.

"What can I say? I'm extremely hateable." I said.

We kept on laughing for a few more minutes, but we soon stopped.

"So, you said you were looking for a place to stay?" He asked.

"That's the idea."

"Well, you're welcome to stay with me if you want." Finnigan said kindly.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Heck no. I need the company anyway."

We both shook flippers.

"So, you said you were rich?" I asked.

"Well, I WAS."

"Does that mean you can't buy me yacht?"

Finnigan stopped and pretended to think.

"No."

"But rich boyyyy." I pretended to whine.

"Shut up."

**Hello everyone! This is the first of a few stories about some new characters that will be appearing in Torn Apart. There will be one more story that explains the relationship between these two new characters and Desmin and how they first met. Chapter one of the sequel will hopefully come up next week if I finish everything on time! Anyways, thanks for reading! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Roman's POV  
**

We both had to share the couch for the night, which I didn't mind at all. I was always used to sleeping on a lab table so this was actually an upgrade.

When I woke up, I felt very well rested. The sun managed to creep its way through the closed shades and added some light to the otherwise dark room.

Finnigan was still sleeping, so I got up and silently made my way to the kitchen. The fridge had a lot of goodies in it, but I only took a small piece of fish.

I waddled over to the kitchen table and started to eat my breakfast. The clock on the wall told me that it was only 8:00 in the morning.

I finished up my meal and cast everything aside. I was definitely feeling in good condition, so that hopefully eliminates the possibility of that serum harming my system.

I got up from where I was sitting and decided to check out the apartment a bit more. The main area was composed of the living room and the kitchen. I walked down a small hallway that opened up on right side of the living room and noticed that it led to a bathroom and a large closet.

Finnigan had told me that he hadn't been here long, so some parts of this place were still unexplored territory to us. I decided to scavenge through the closet to see if there was anything worth taking.

I opened the closet and noticed that it was still packed with many things, probably leftovers from people who live here before. I took a black colored backpack and filled it with some blankets, a map of the city that I found taped to the closet wall, and a flashlight.

I went back to the kitchen and placed the backpack on the table. I stored a bit of fish in a container and filled up a bottle of water to bring with me. This small amount of supplies was just to get me started.

I took one look back at my sleeping friend and then opened the door and left. After descending a flight of stairs and locating the exit, I was back outside.

It was a very cloudy day and it looked like there could be a chance of rain. I probably should have checked for a weather report before I left, but that's beside the point. Finnigan was nice enough to offer his home to me, but I could only use it for one night. I can't live off of someone else. It just doesn't feel right. Like I said before, I don't really care what happens to me. As long as the people around me don't get harmed in any way, I'm all good.

I started walking down the small path that was behind the building. I had the backpack over my shoulder and the map in my flippers. I'm not really sure where I want to be going. Anywhere sounds nice I guess. Maybe I'll take a ferry to Staten Island...

"And where do you think you're going?" I heard a voice ask from behind me.

I turned around and noticed that Finnigan had followed me. He had his flippers crossed over his chest and a questionable look on his beak.

"Just...around." I answered.

"You're not going anywhere!" He yelled.

"Oh sorry _dad. _Didn't know I needed your approval." I spat back.

There was a pause of silence. Then I noticed something that I hadn't noticed before. There was a backpack identical to mine slung over his shoulder.

"...at least without me."

He smiled at me then took the backpack off of his shoulder, opening it on the ground.

"I really appreciate that you want to go with me, but you don't need to. You have everything you need back at the apartment. I only left because I didn't want to take what's rightfully yours." I told him.

"Look, we both have supplies, we both can take care of ourselves. Heck, I only stayed there to restock everything that I already had. And besides, I'd rather travel with a friend than by myself." Finnigan said.

He zipped up his backpack and slung it back over his shoulder. He got up from the ground and stared at me, his flippers on his hips.

"Well?" He asked.

"Alright, you win. Let's go." I told him.

He gave me a satisfied nod and then we both started heading deeper down the path.

_**Several hours later**_

"Do you even have any idea where we are?" Finnigan asked, looking around.

"I thought we were supposed to come out somewhere near Times Square, but I don't see anything of the sort." I told him, looking carefully at the map that was in my flippers.

"Congratulations, you managed to get us lost."

"What, you think you can do better rich boy?" I asked him.

"First of all, don't call me that. Second of all, that's not what I was saying. If you just studied the map more closely-"

"You want to be the one with the map? Go ahead!" I said, throwing the map to him.

"Whatever." Finnigan said under his breath, catching the map.

We started off walking on concrete, then we crossed over onto a dirt path, and now we're back on concrete, in an alleyway that looks almost identical to the one behind the apartment except for some different surroundings. We must have spent the whole day traveling, because the sun looked like it was just about ready to set.

We kept on going straight until I stopped the both of us.

"What is it now?" Finnigan asked.

"You hear that?"

We both stopped talking and listened for any sign of movement. A few feet in front of us, we could hear what seamed to be a drawn out moan. We slowly inched toward the source of the sound until we stopped in front of a dumpster. Inside there was something sleeping. A penguin, no older than the two of us.

"You seeing this?" I asked Finnigan.

"Can't miss it."

He edged a bit closer to the dumpster to get a better look, but managed to trip on an empty box that was in front of it. He slammed his flippers on the dumpster to break his fall, but this also woke up our sleeping friend.

**Hey guys! There's been a slight change of plans from what I originally had in mind. I've decided to leave this story at two chapters instead of adding a third. I just didn't really have any good ideas on how I wanted to finish it up, so I'm just going to leave it as it is. Don't worry though! Torn Apart will take place years after these events, so the sequel will still make sense. I hope you're all fine with this decision! Thanks for reading! XD**


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